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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · march · fall · band · present · tube · lash · row

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. present — the time now
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fall — to drop
  10. march — the month
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. band — a music group
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tube — a container
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. row — to paddle
  20. band — a ring
  21. march — music
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. march — the month
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com